Kaiser Permanente San Diego is hosting a workshop for nonprofit organization leaders, development directors and other interested individuals who want to learn more about Kaiser's benefit resources, which are available to nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations serving San Diego County.

The facts are clear: Wellness programs lead to cost savings, happier employees and a more productive workforce. Most likely, little else needs to be said to sway your CFO, but a larger problem remains. How do you implement and maintain a corporate wellness program that works?

The challenges facing many downtown residents go beyond access to housing and include access to other basics, including medical care and legal assistance. Getting through the day can prove overwhelming. Today, community resources often struggle to meet the growing needs of our poor neighbors in San Diego. A growing number of San Diego residents are unable to afford legal assistance but need professional advice as they navigate issues related to financial uncertainty.

The Internet is one of the first resources many people use to find out about symptoms and possible treatments to ailments. As more people join online social networks, they are also using sites like Facebook and Twitter to crowd source information about health.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Customers of three California health insurers will get some breathing room after the companies agreed last week to delay rate increases for 60 days, isolating Blue Shield of California as the lone holdout.

If you own a car, you probably take it in a few times a year for an oil change and diagnostic inspection. Why? Because you know that these simple tests provide just the right amount of preventive maintenance to keep your car running smoothly for years to come.

GM&A is a corporate health care consulting firm comprised of medical industry insiders specializing in “direct contracting” with health care providers on behalf of large employers. President David Herbert, M.D., and CEO Michael Jenike have worked on all sides of health care, from hospital administration to insurance. They recently visited from their home offices in Texas to participate in a Daily Transcript executive roundtable on health and wellness.

Heart disease is still the No. 1 killer of women, taking the life of one in three women each year. This means women just like you -- mothers, sisters, friends -- are dying at the rate of one per minute because they don’t know what you know: heart disease kills.

Medical device entrepreneurs and startup companies feeling left out of the health care reform debate have established a new advocacy group. The goal is to educate policy makers about the possibly far-reaching impacts of pending reform on their life-saving and health-improving products.

Health care reform has moved to the back burner on the president's agenda. With all the backroom partisan finagling, voluminous reform content and congressional realignments that tilt votes in one direction to another, it's hard to say when and if the Health Care Reform Bill will pass.

Wireless health care is on the rise, and with continued technological advancements and adherence to a few guiding principles, it could lead to better quality of life for patients, reduced hospital costs and earlier detection of medical problems, panelists said during a Feb. 4 discussion at West 2010.

Some heart attacks are sudden and intense, but most of them start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often the people affected aren't sure what's wrong and wait too long before getting help. Here are some of the signs that can mean a heart attack is happening:

In 2009, it was announced that cardiovascular disease is no longer the leading cause of death in San Diego County. During the past five years, there has been a 13 percent decrease in the number of deaths caused by cardiovascular disease in San Diego County, and a staggering 26 percent drop in the number of lives claimed by stroke in the county.

Most businesses recognize their employees' health and well being is key to productivity and business success. That's why businesses are investing in worksite wellness programs that help improve employee health, boost performance and reduce health care costs. In fact, the question for most companies is not whether to have a wellness program, but rather how to implement one successfully.

With more and more companies experiencing increases in their health care costs, corporate wellness programs are gaining momentum as a means to both control health care costs and increase the productivity and morale of employees. By promoting and incenting healthier lifestyles for their employees, employers can directly impact both absenteeism and productivity.

The Scripps Wellness program helps employees learn how to take small steps to improve their health and rewards them with reduced insurance premiums. By registering on the Scripps Wellness Web site and creating a profile, employees and their families have personalized health information and resources to support healthy goals such as weight loss, increased physical activity, healthy eating, stress reduction and quitting smoking. About 12,700 employees participate in the program. Employee wellness benefits include:

The American Heart Association's San Diego division takes health and wellness seriously. It is important to be both a resource and an example to others when it comes to addressing company health and wellness.

The last several benefit renewals leading up to 2008 felt like Groundhog Day each time for the General Lock & Clark Security Products executives. Faced with double-digit medical premium increases and little or no utilization information, the only options in offsetting some of the additional expense to the company were increasing co-pays, reducing benefits and increasing payroll deductions.

As a company that provides technology solutions, marketing services and online media properties that enable and encourage participation in activities and events, Active Network not only provides external services to promote a fit planet, but has long been a company that encourages its own employees to pursue an active, healthy lifestyle.

UnitedHealthcare's health and wellness programs help employers and employees achieve and maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle. By working collaboratively with employers, UnitedHealthcare helps implement wellness programs that feature interactive tools, resources, information and online programs. These programs help improve the health and well-being of employees, while also helping employers more effectively manage health care costs.

The current secretary general of the World Council on Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation likes to tell the story of a young cardiologist. He was standing on the edge of a riverbank enjoying the view when he spotted a man flailing in the water, being carried down the rapids toward a 1,000-foot waterfall. He immediately took his shoes off, jumped into the river, and pulled the man to safety.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Among states, California arguably has the most to gain from an overhaul of its health care system: It has the greatest number of uninsured residents in the country and the largest public insurance program for the poor, which struggles to serve 6.5 million people while reimbursing doctors at one of the nation's lowest rates.

Lately, there has been much talk and action in Washington, D.C., regarding health care reform, and some of the reform talk has focused on prevention and proactive intervention. While we care about health care coverage, which is the main thrust of the federal debate, prevention can be the key to reforming the health of the San Diego community. To see the possibilities for transforming the health of all San Diegans, one need only examine these three numbers: 3, 4 and 50.

As a Fortune 100 best employer, Scripps Health has demonstrated its commitment to innovative programs that support its 12,900 employees working across the region on its five hospital campuses, 19 outpatient clinics and various administrative offices. Its latest success is the Scripps employee wellness program.

HD Supply Facilities Maintenance is a leading supplier of maintenance, repair and operations products to owners and managers of multifamily, hospitality, educational and commercial properties; health care providers; and municipal and government facilities. The company has a comprehensive wellness program with a wealth of health and welfare benefits. HD Supply understands that associates need more -- from recognition to volunteerism and sustainable operating practices.

Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) believes employees are its best assets. In 1990 the company implemented its comprehensive wellness program, which was highly promoted by senior management. Since then, Sempra Energy and its Energy for Life wellness program have been committed to promoting safe and healthy lifestyles for employees and their families.

In a competitive hiring market, employers are motivated to provide premium benefits to attract the best and brightest job seekers. The life science industry, where companies are focused on using technologies to improve lives, is no exception.

Health and wellness is ingrained in the corporate fabric of The Active Network. As a company that provides technology solutions, marketing services and online media properties that enable and encourage participation in activities and events, Active not only provides external services to promote a fit planet, but has long been a company that encourages its own employees to pursue an active, healthy lifestyle.

The road to better health has many paths. Before individuals can make a commitment to better health, they need to understand their health. Are there specific issues impacting their health today? Are they controllable? Is there a healthy living plan out there that meets their unique needs?

Every year, there are hundreds of work-related fatalities reported in California and several hundred thousand disabling non-fatal work injuries and illnesses reported. To help reduce these startling numbers, California requires employers to implement and maintain an Injury Prevention Program (IPP).

INDIANAPOLIS -- Rising unemployment, swine flu and the threat of health care reform all ganged up on managed care companies in the third quarter and could hurt their performance heading into 2010. But most of the large publicly traded health insurers reported better-than-expected profit growth for the latest period, and analysts still see strong core businesses beneath the challenges facing the industry.

Being a full-time, third-year medical student is tough enough, but Michael Fujinaka is also busy helping his fellow students learn. He answered his own questions about identifying heart murmurs by inventing a practical, high-tech learning tool.

The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority is an independent, state-chartered enterprise that employs approximately 350 professionals in the airport management industry at San Diego International at Lindbergh Field. The organization has consistently demonstrated a commitment to employee wellness, viewing the program as a method of achieving a sustainable work force. This means the organization invests in preserving employees as business assets as opposed to managing them as an expense.

A leader in health care contracting, University Mechanical & Engineering Contractors Inc. (UMEC) is a full-service, value-added mechanical contractor with leading-edge design/build and design/assist capabilities. The company is currently working on numerous health care projects with a mechanical value in excess of $150 million. The Veterans Administration Outpatient Services Clinic in Oceanside, the Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center Expansion at UCSD Thornton Hospital and numerous projects for Kaiser Permanente Healthcare, as well as the new "Hospital of the Future" at the Palomar Medical Center West in Escondido, are just a few examples of the firm's ongoing projects.

CHICAGO -- An international group of scientists has decoded the DNA of the domestic pig, research that may one day prove useful in finding new treatments for both pigs and people, and perhaps aid in efforts for a new swine flu vaccine for pigs.

The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority is an independent, state-chartered enterprise that employs approximately 350 professionals in the airport management industry at San Diego International Airport at Lindbergh Field. The organization has consistently demonstrated a commitment to employee wellness, viewing the program as a method of achieving a sustainable work force. This means the organization invests in preserving employees as business assets, as opposed to managing them as an expense.

Wellness in the Workplace Roundtables

As lawmakers in Washington try to hammer out a bill to change health care in America, some local San Diego companies have been taking matters into their own hands, trying to make employees healthier and bring costs down.

Profiles

A seven-story building that will open its doors in 2015 will be home to a state-of-the-art heart health care institute that will transform Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla and make it a destination for heart patients.

When Larry Anderson walked in the door as interim CEO of Tri-City Medical Center in January 2009, the Oceanside hospital was losing $1.5 million a month, paying 17 percent interest on debt of nearly $70 million and staring at a 2013 deadline to close its doors, since its buildings were not compliant with state earthquake standards.